Ents, Hobbits, and Salvation in the Shadow of Charlottesville: David Roberts on “The God Who Saves”

A great engagement by David Roberts with the work of David Congdon over at DET:

What form, then, does a such informed church assume in our present situation? I can speak only as a person of privilege in this space. But, in light of Congdon’s proposal, a few suggestions: A practiced, visible presence in the places where systemic injustice is most prevalent, such as witnessed in the life and death of Heather Heyer; a privileging of silenced voices, such as Rev. Traci Blackmon, who stood boldly in the face of open hatred; and a resistance to the privileging of a particular institution or modality as “the Church” properly defined, but rather an openness to witnessing Christ-being-for-others in places where the name of Jesus is but whispered, if it is even spoken at all.

Turning, in conclusion, back to the film adaptation of The Two Towers, the hobbits convince Treebeard to follow a path through the forest that takes the party past the destruction that the evil wizard Saruman has wrought on the surrounding countryside. Per the framework laid out in this post, Treebeard experiences something of a co-crucifixion in this moment. His security shattered, he rallies his fellow Ents to war, knowing full well that their march may be one unto death—the last march of the Ents.